


The Bloodied Rose

by Veritara



Category: Elder Scrolls
Genre: Daggerfall, Gen, High Rock, Lore Book, breton - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-21 01:49:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16150007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veritara/pseuds/Veritara
Summary: Written in the style of in-game lore books of The Elder Scrolls games, it tells the story of two warring step-siblings of Wayrest and their fight for the crown.





	The Bloodied Rose

If there is any province with no shortage of knightly orders, it is High Rock. Infamous for their proud nobility, endless twisting corridors of bureaucracy and politics, and easy talent for magic, the Bretons have an order for every man, woman, and child who can wear a crown and declare themselves a lord. All orders swear the same oath of fealty, have some manner of nonsensical banner, and live the same uneventful lives as mere props to display the self-importance of their lord. The Knights of the Rose were one such order, serving the king and throne of Wayrest for centuries. In the late third era, the ex-husband of Morrowind’s own Queen Barenziah, King Eadwrye found himself in a disturbing quandary. The true-born daughter of he and his first wife, Princess Elysana, and his stepson by Barenziah, Prince Helseth, waged a quiet but brutal war behind the scenes as they each sought to claim the throne of Wayrest.

The people of High Rock watched with the appropriate amount of amused interest. Such squabbles weren’t uncommon and, since Helseth was such a beloved public figure, he would surely win and Elysana would be relegated to some backwater hamlet to reign over. The struggle continued for many years, where Helseth bribed, blackmailed, and assassinated his way even further into public opinion as he expanded his influence beyond the province of Wayrest. Elysana held gallas and balls in an attempt to win support but the winner, as the smallfolk had decided years ago, would always be the Dunmer prince.

When King Eadwrye died peacefully in his sleep, the two sprung into action to secure the throne. The court was to take a vote before what would be the coronation banquet. One by one, they filed into the hall and were greeted graciously by the vying royals but Helseth’s false smile began to wane as he recognized an important fact among all the entering nobles. She met his gaze across the ballroom and smiled.

This small handful, the only members of court to arrive that night, were Elysana’s sole supporters.

Legend says, that when it came to the opening dance between the step-siblings, Elysana handed Helseth the traditional symbol of Wayrest–a fresh white rose, but between the delicate petals were drops of crimson blood.

She won the throne in the only vote in Wayrest’s history to ever be unanimous. Her first act was to banish Helseth and his mother to Morrowind. Hardened by the bitter feuding years, Elysana established doctrine that would cause her to become known as one of the cruelest rulers in Tamriel. It would not be until dawn that the discovery of seventy-eight members of the previous court had died of natural causes in the night.

Of course, a dagger to the heart will end life quite naturally.


End file.
